BANG!
SPLURT!
"Hey!"
At the sound of the gunshot, Josuke snapped back to reality. He watched in shock as Sakuya staggered back, a fresh hole appearing in her shoulder. Blood began to soak through the white lace of her sleeve.
'What just happened?'
'Why couldn't I see the bullet's trajectory?'
Josuke immediately summoned [Crazy Diamond]. His Stand unleashed a flurry of pinpoint precise punches to seal Sakuya's wound while he kept a wary eye on the two girls across the street.
"Was that the power of her Stand?"
He thought back to the name the younger girl had called out just moments before.
"A Stand that can heal people?"
"In that case, I definitely can't let you interfere."
"Miyu."
Homura watched as Sakuya's wound closed under [Crazy Diamond]'s influence. She turned her head and gave Miyu a sharp, meaningful look.
"Got it."
Understanding what Homura needed, Miyu reached into her deep reserves of magical energy. She activated the power that had been "Recorded" within her soul.
"[Trace On]..."
In an instant, the sky above them was filled with hundreds of blades, floating in a dense, lethal formation that blocked out the morning sun.
"This is... look at all of those..."
Josuke stared at the scene in disbelief. If all of those weapons were launched at once, he doubted even the incredible speed of [Crazy Diamond] could deflect every single one of them.
Homura raised her handgun once more, aiming it squarely at Sakuya. Both girls unleashed their respective salvos simultaneously.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The projectiles moved with such unnatural speed that there was no time for a normal human to react.
"!"
However, Sakuya had already anticipated the move. Before the weapons could reach her, she tossed her pocket watch into the air.
A ripple spread through the space between them. The bullets and the projected swords were frozen in mid air, caught within a pocket of stilled time.
"A localized time-stop?"
"Man... that was a close one."
Josuke let out a long, shaky breath. If not for Sakuya's intervention, he would have been turned into a pincushion before he could even register the attack.
'Those two look like children, but they don't hold back at all.'
He discarded his earlier, more relaxed attitude. He knew now that these weren't opponents he could afford to underestimate.
"Did you use your Stand to steal my ability?" Sakuya asked, her eyes fixed on Miyu with a cold, investigative focus.
"Stealing isn't quite the right word for it."
"To be more precise, her Stand simply recorded the essence of who you are."
"What?"
Homura responded with a calm demeanor, despite the fact that her body was still marked by the grazes of Sakuya's earlier knives. Unlike her, Miyu was carefully observing Josuke.
Miyu's Stand, [Sakuzuki], was still growing, but its primary function was already operational.
It worked by recording the presence of every person the Master encountered.
Much like the mechanics of the Throne of Heroes, the essence of the target was etched into the Stand's vessel.
When the need arose, Miyu could "Install" the recorded essence of a person into another, granting the recipient the powers and abilities of that individual.
It was essentially a way to grant someone an artificial, temporary Heroic Spirit or Stand.
Of course, maintaining such a transformation required a massive continuous expenditure of magical energy.
But for Homura Akemi and Miyu, "Magical Cost" was effectively a non issue.
When [Sakuzuki] was first born, the intense emotional weight of Miyu's past had caused the essence of [Emiya Shirou] to be permanently engraved within it.
That was the power she had "Installed" into Homura earlier.
It granted Homura the ability to use the [Projection Magecraft] of her brother without any of the usual limitations.
The reason she had come out with Homura today wasn't just to help fight Sakuya.
Even with [Projection] to bolster her firepower, Homura would always be at a disadvantage against someone who could manipulate the flow of time.
That was why Miyu's presence was vital.
By using [Sakuzuki] to record Sakuya Izayoi's existence, she could grant Homura the same temporal manipulation.
On an even playing field of time, the gap between their powers would disappear.
At the same time, Miyu was carefully noting the incredible healing properties of Josuke Higashikata's Stand.
[Sakuzuki]'s recording range required Miyu to be in the immediate vicinity of the target.
The record of [Emiya Shirou] was a special case, born from memory and grief, but for other targets, she needed to be close.
The moment Homura had fired her gun, Sakuya had sensed the subtle ripple of temporal interference. It was enough for her to conclude that Miyu had somehow mirrored her power.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Tch. This is going to be a massive headache."
Josuke and Sakuya shifted their positions as the localized time-stop expired. The frozen blades and bullets rained down upon the street, pulverizing the pavement where they had been standing just moments ago.
"Master... can I leave the young girl to you?"
"Whoa? It's rare for you to actually ask me for help in a fight."
"Because I need to focus everything I have on this battle. I can't afford to be distracted by anything else."
"Heh. Fine by me. Stand user vs Stand user, and Servant vs Servant."
Hearing Sakuya's request, Josuke agreed with a confident grin.
"Don't even think about it!"
Homura saw their plan and raised her machine gun to unleash a suppression burst, but her vision suddenly began to distort and flicker.
"!"
An ancient, sprawling mansion manifested from the air. A deep, blood red light bathed the stone walls, giving the entire structure an eerie, malevolent aura.
When Homura looked behind her, the city was gone. Instead, there was only a dense, lightless forest and a lake covered in a thick, choking mist.
"This is...?"
A heavy sense of unease filled her chest. She looked toward the open, weathered gates of the mansion and saw Sakuya standing in the courtyard.
"In this place, we can fight without any outside interference."
"The city streets were far too restrictive for my liking."
Sakuya's pupils glowed with a faint, predatory red light as she stood in the center of the garden, her gaze fixed on Homura.
"Archer?!"
Miyu stared in shock at the empty space where Homura had been standing just a second before.
"Ah man. Did she pull her into that haunted house again?"
"Koichi was so scared of that place that he actually cried. It definitely has a creepy vibe."
"But I guess it works as a way to split the battlefield."
"Now then... I think it's time to teach a certain stubborn kid a lesson about playing fair."
Josuke summoned [Crazy Diamond] and fixed his gaze on Miyu.
Without the time-manipulating Servant to protect her, he was confident he could win a direct encounter between Masters.
His plan was to restrain the girl, take the Dragon Ball, and end the fight without any further bloodshed.
"[Trace On]!"
Sensing his intent to close the distance, Miyu didn't hesitate. She activated her own projection.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
"DORA RA RA RA!!"
[Crazy Diamond] unleashed a hail of punches, shattering the projected swords as they flew toward Josuke. He stood his ground, looking remarkably unbothered.
"Attacks of this level won't work on me!"
He gave her a confident, one-handed smug look, his delinquent style on full display.
And then...
Miyu released the limiters on her [Projection].
When an endless cloud of swords, numbering in the hundreds, began to rain down like a literal storm of steel, Josuke's face went pale.
"HUH?!"
He immediately turned around and sprinted for the nearest cover.
This has to be a joke!
A dozen or so blades he could handle, but with hundreds of them coming down like rain... how was [Crazy Diamond] supposed to punch them all?
Where the hell was this little girl getting this much magical energy?!
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]